Pentecost - We all have our own concept of the meaning of Pentecost. Sometimes we Christians think it all began with us, forgetting that it is a Jewish idea. Festival of weeks - fifty days after Passover.
Job, in answering one of his so-called friends, said, "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter; as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips will speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit."
Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." II Cor. 3:17-18.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all in the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-3.
Pentecost Sunday: A Special Moment by Frederick Buechner
Who knows how the awareness of God's love first hits people? Every person has his/her own tale to tell, including the person who would not believe in God if you paid him. Some moment happens in your life that makes you say "Yes!" right up to the roots of your hair, that makes it worth having been born just to have happen. Laughing with somebody til the tears run down your cheeks. Waking up to the first snow. Being in bed with somebody you love. Whether you thank God for such a moment or thank your lucky stars, it is a moment that is trying to open up your whole life. If you try to turn your back on such a moment and hurry along to business as usual, it may lose you the whole ball game. If you throw your arms around such a moment and hug it like crazy, it may save your soul. How about the person you know, who as far as you can possibly tell, has never had such a moment? Maybe for that person the moment that has to happen is you.
~ Sally Dodgson
Job, in answering one of his so-called friends, said, "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter; as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips will speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit."
Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." II Cor. 3:17-18.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all in the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-3.
Pentecost Sunday: A Special Moment by Frederick Buechner
Who knows how the awareness of God's love first hits people? Every person has his/her own tale to tell, including the person who would not believe in God if you paid him. Some moment happens in your life that makes you say "Yes!" right up to the roots of your hair, that makes it worth having been born just to have happen. Laughing with somebody til the tears run down your cheeks. Waking up to the first snow. Being in bed with somebody you love. Whether you thank God for such a moment or thank your lucky stars, it is a moment that is trying to open up your whole life. If you try to turn your back on such a moment and hurry along to business as usual, it may lose you the whole ball game. If you throw your arms around such a moment and hug it like crazy, it may save your soul. How about the person you know, who as far as you can possibly tell, has never had such a moment? Maybe for that person the moment that has to happen is you.
~ Sally Dodgson